The invention relates to a laundry treatment device, in particular a washing machine, a washer/dryer or a tumble dryer, with a housing, with a container suspended in the housing in an oscillating manner and a unit for detecting the position and/or the arrangement of the container in the housing, where the detection unit comprises an magnetic field-generating element and a detector unit for detecting a magnetic flux density of the magnetic field.
A washing machine with a housing, in which a washing liquor container is arranged in an oscillating manner on hangers is known from EP 972 874 A1. The washing machine comprises a permanent magnet, which is arranged on one of the hangers, and a Hall element, which is attached to an essentially fixed element of the washing machine. In the case of a change in the distance between the magnet and the Hall element, the magnetic flux density detected by the Hall element changes. As the fixed element is also essentially at rest relative to the housing, the distance at the same time indicates the arrangement of the container in the housing. The Hall element can generate an electrical signal proportional to the distance, which is fed to a control unit of the washing machine for the purposes of measuring the weight and imbalance. A disadvantage of the known method is that the measurement unit of the known washing machine enables only detection of the container arrangement in the direction of the hanger arms. During a treatment process, in particular during a spin sequence, the container can also be deflected in horizontal directions. In order reliably to avoid the container striking the housing, horizontal movements too must be detected.
A washing machine with a unit for the measurement of a container arrangement in a housing is also known from DE 39 38 822 A1. This washing machine has an optical distance measurement unit, which can likewise only detect the container arrangement in a vertical direction. Such an optical measurement unit can easily become soiled in a washing machine, making it highly susceptible to faults.